My family eats this dish for lunch on the first day of Chinese New Year for the “opening of the year” meal.  It’s all vegetarian, so I guess it’s to set us up for good karma for the year for not killing any animals, even if it’s only one meal a year.  Well, if that >1 billion Chinese all over the world skip meat for just one meal, that’s a lot of animals not killed.  In non-Asian places, the dish is aka Buddha’s Delight – although it really has nothing to do with the Buddha, but it sure is a delightful dish despite its somber colors!  Anyhoo, this chye choy is very delicious with a mix of mushrooms and soy derivatives, and makes a great vegan offering.

Chef’s tip:  The “fatt choy” are those little black strands you see in the picture.  (no worries, its not hair!  We do respect food safety standards.)  It’s a kind of seaweed.   But with a name like “fatt choy” like in Kong Hee Fatt Choy, eating it brings you good luck!  Happy year of the Tiger.

8 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced or halved
4 oz Nameko mushrooms, whole, trimmed
4 oz crimini, halved
1 cup cloud ears mushrooms, fresh or reconstitute ½ cup dried
1 cup tiger lily buds, fresh or reconstitute ½ cup dried
1 cup enoki mushrooms

3 Tablespoon canola oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups Napa cabbage, sliced

8 cubes fermented bean curd
3 Tablespoon canola oil
1 cup water

2 cups fried tofu puffs
1 large piece yuba, fresh or reconstituted, cut into 2 inch strips
2 oz gingko nuts, shelled
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 oz mung bean noodles, soaked
1/2 cup “fatt choy” seaweed

1. Soak dried mushrooms (if not using fresh) and lily buds in hot water for 15 minutes.  Trim hard ends off lilies.  Tie a knot through each bud.
2. Thinly slice shiitake and cloud ears.
3. Slice napa cabbage.
4. Heat a large wok.  Add 1 Tablespoon oil and 1/3 of the minced garlic and fry till it sizzles.  Add cabbage, fry for a minute until wilted.  Remove and set aside.
5. Add 1 Tablespoon and remaining garlic and fry till it sizzles.  Add fermented bean curd.  Add the shiitake, and the remaining mushrooms, except for the enoki.  Saute until mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes.  Add water and bring to boil.
6. Add tofu puffs and yuba and gingko nuts.  Cook 1 minute.  Add soy sauce to taste.
7. Add mung bean noodles and seaweed, bring to boil, or until noodles are translucent.

Serves: 6

Tags: Chinese, Mushrooms, vegan, Vegetarian.

Nothing beats a classic mac and cheese.  I like to use Gruyere for its nutty flavor, but you can use any good melting cheese like a sharp cheddar or for a milder flavor, to wean your child from Kraft’s box mac ‘n cheese, a Monterey Jack.

Chef’s tip: The key to making a bechamel sauce is making a good roux, followed by tempering the milk into the roux.  Heating the milk and adding it a little at a time will ensure a smooth sauce.

Mac and Cheese:

1 lb macaroni or pasta shape of choice
1 Tablespoon butter

4 cups whole milk (for richer flavor, use half & half or heavy cream)
6 Tablespoons (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika (optional)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4 cups (12 ounces) Gruyere or a sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Some butter to grease a 13X9X2 baking dish or 8  1 large ramekins
1 cup coarse, good quality breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated

Preheat the oven 350°F
1. Preparing the pasta:  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add 1 Tablespoon kosher salt.  Add macaroni and cook at a rolling boil until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain and toss with 1 Tablespoon of butter.
Preparing the sauce:
2. Bring milk/ cream to just about simmer or when steam begins to form.  Set aside.
3. Make a roux:  In a heavy saucepan, melt 6 Tablespoons butter over medium heat.  Do not brown the butter.  Remove from heat, sprinkle in flour and stir with a whisk or a wooden spoon then return to medium heat, while stirring continuously for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Make a bechamel sauce: Add the hot milk to the flour mixture, in small batches and whisk well.  Add salt, pepper, paprika and nutmeg.  Return the pan to medium heat and cook, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens and smooth, about 5 minutes.
Assembling the mac and cheese:
5.  Add macaroni to the sauce, add half the shredded cheese mixture and toss well to coat.
6. Butter a oven-proof baking dish or ramekins.  Pour the pasta mixture into the baking dish.  Distribute remaining shredded cheese on top, followed by the breadcrumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
7. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.  Remove from oven.
8. Place the dish under the broiler, 4 inches from the heat, for 2 minutes, or until top is golden brown and bubbly.

Serves 8.

Tags: Californian, Pasta, Vegetarian.

Gan Shui Hong Dao Sha Joong is a dessert dumpling.  It’s an acquired taste – a sort of “bland and flat” springy rice dumpling stuffed with sweet mashed red beans.  Traditionally the rice is treated with an alkaline water to give it a spongy and springy texture.  Since this “lye” water is not permitted this side of the Pacific, we will use baking soda instead to achieve the same effect.

The last in our series on Zongzi, please refer to the first post on the series for wrapping and boiling instructions.  Happy wrapping!

Chef’s tip: For the full detailed instructions on how to fold the dumpling and boiling the dumplings, please refer to the Cantonese Joong recipe for the leaf template and step by step instructions.

Sweet Joong

4 ½ cups glutinous sweet rice, soaked, drained
4 ½ teaspoons baking soda. sifted (or 2 tablespoon alkaline “lye” water)

Red bean paste
1 cup of Adzuki red beans, soaked, drained
3/4 cup sugar or more to taste
3 pandan leave (optional), each tied into a knot
¼ cup of canola oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

4 pandan leaves, cut into 1 inch length
72 pieces bamboo leaves
24 pieces yard-long kitchen twine

Preparing the ingredients the night before
1.    Wash rice.  Cover with 2 inches of water over the top of the rice, and soak overnight.
2.    Pick over red beans, rinse, cover with 2 inches of water over the top & soak overnight.
3.    Soak bamboo leaves in hot water overnight.  Next morning, scrub with brush and rinse several times to remove dirt.  Leave leaves in water till ready to use.
Preparing the red bean paste filling
4.    Place beans in a pot with 2 pieces of the pandan.  Cover with 2 inches of water over the beans and simmer 1-1 ½ hours till beans have softened.  Add more water if needed.  Drain.
5.    Puree beans in a food processor.
6.    In a non stick pan, heat oil, add sugar and the pureed beans and 1 pandan.
7.    Constantly stir the paste. Cook for 10 minutes until the bean paste is dry.
Preparing the rice
8.    Drain rice, sprinkle baking soda over the rice and mix well, let sit 5 minutes.  Rice should turn slightly yellow.
Wrapping the dumpling (see detailed instructions section)
9.    Prepare bamboo cone.
10.    Place 1 tablespoon rice into the cone.  Make a slight well, then place 2 tablespoons of red bean paste and top with 1½ tablespoons of rice.  Pack all ingredients lightly as you add them.  Smooth the top with a clean wet spoon.
11.    Cover the rice with 2 pieces of pandan squares
12.    Complete wrapping and secure leaves with kitchen twine.
NOTE: Sweet dumplings are packed and tied loosely so that the rice will have space to expand and it will be soft
Cooking
13.    Bring a pot of water to boil.  Gently place the dumplings in and boil for 60 minutes over medium slow fire. Add water constantly to ensure the dumplings are always submerged in water.
14.    When cooked, remove the dumplings and place in a colander to dry.
15.    Serve with brown sugar or palm sugar syrup on the side, if you’d like.

Makes 24 pieces

* Note: The leftover cooking liquid (plus a little of the beans) makes an excellent Chinese dessert – “hongdou shui”.  Add sugar to taste.  Serve hot with a tablespoon of coconut milk.

Tags: Cantonese, Chinese, Malaysian.